Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar Resigns; Nayab Saini, Sanjay Bhatia Frontrunners For Top Post

New Delhi: Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar resigned from the CM post on Tuesday, sources said to Zee News Television. CM Khattar is likley to contest Lok Sabha elections from Karnal. The alliance between BJP and Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) in Haryana is on the verge of breaking as the two parties failed to finalise seat-sharing deal for the Lok Sabha elections. CM Khattar has convened an urgent assembly with party lawmakers and seven Independent MLAs in the state’s heart at 11.30 am today. However, souces say that JJP legislators will boycott the meet called by the CM.

Zee News TV souces said that Nayab Saini and Sanjay Bhatia are the two frontrunners for the CM post as Khattar stepped down.

#BreakingNews | हरियाणा में बदले जा सकते हैं CM-सूत्र
नायब सैनी, संजय भाटिया बन सकते हैं CM के दावेदार #Haryana #BJP #JJP #CMManoharLal | @JournoPranay @ravindrak2000 @lambavinod pic.twitter.com/pzflDqQG7G — Zee News (@ZeeNews) March 12, 2024

Speaking to reporters, Gopal Kanda, the MLA of the Haryana Lokhit Party (HLP) has claimed that the political alliance between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Jannayak Janata Party (JJP). Speaking to ANI, Independent MLA Nayan Pal Rawat voiced on Tuesday that the coalition is teetering on the edge, yet he assured that the independent MLAs backing the ML Khattar government will be the linchpin of its endurance.

“During my conversation with the Chief Minister just a day ago, we reaffirmed our allegiance to the administration spearheaded by CM Manohar Lal. The upcoming Lok Sabha elections were a key topic of our strategy session. It became apparent to me that the severance of ties with the JJP is underway,” said Haryana’s Independent MLA Nayan Rawat post his dialogue with the Chief Minister.

Nayan Pal Rawat secured his seat in the Haryana Legislative Assembly representing Prithla in 2019 as an Independent candidate. Echoing the sentiment, Independent MLA Dharampal Gonder confirmed the independents’ support for the BJP-dominated government.

Within the 90-seat Haryana Assembly, the BJP holds 41 seats and is bolstered by the backing of 5 independent MLAs, including HLP’s Gopal Kanda.

In a parallel development, sources reveal that the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) convened a meeting in Delhi, with discussions slated to occur at the abode of Haryana’s Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala. These sources also divulged that the Deputy Chief Minister has relinquished the government motorcade, signaling a potential dissolution of the alliance.

In a notable shift, Brijendra Singh, erstwhile BJP MP from Hisar, Haryana, defected to the Congress on March 10 after resigning from the incumbent party.

Reflecting on the previous Lok Sabha elections in 2019, the BJP clinched victory across all 10 constituencies, while the JJP, allied with AAP, failed to make significant inroads in the 7 contests it entered.

The anticipation builds as the Lok Sabha elections are slated for the window between April and May of this year.